History of the railway in Württemberg

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Train in Ludwigsburg station (between 1860 and 1870)

The history of the railway in Württemberg describes the beginnings and expansion of the railway system in Württemberg from the first investigations in 1834 until today.

Starting position

Since the beginning of the 19th century in the Kingdom of Württemberg there had primarily been plans for the construction of canals that would connect the Neckar , Danube and Lake Constance with each other. After the advent of the first railways (→  Prinz-Wilhelm-Bahn ), King Wilhelm I commissioned a commission to investigate whether railways should be built instead. The report of the commission 1834 affirmed this and recommended a railway Stuttgart - Ulm through the valleys of Rems , Kocher and Brenz . At the end of 1835 there were also demands in Ulm to build a railway from Stuttgart through the Filstal to Ulm and on to Lake Constance.

Despite the early and comparatively systematic state-controlled procedure, it took over seven more years until the Royal Württemberg State Railways was created with the Railway Act of April 18, 1843. At this point in time, partly financed by private companies, one and in some cases several railway lines had been opened in the other larger states of the German Confederation ( Bavaria , Saxony , Prussia , Austria , Braunschweig , Baden , Hanover ).

The reason for this late introduction was that in the less well-off Württemberg the costly railway construction did not appear profitable; the total costs of the main railways were estimated at around 30 million guilders , which at that time corresponded to the amount of a three-year budget. In particular, the expected inland traffic was viewed as too little. The comparatively high costs resulted from the hilly topography of Württemberg, whereby the crossing of the Swabian Alb was particularly complex. This divides the country into two halves, with the night eaves on the north side representing a considerable barrier. In the southwest, the Black Forest formed part of the border with the Grand Duchy of Baden . The planned route, which was initially limited to the river valleys, was made more difficult by the fact that key points such as the upper Neckar and Danube valleys were interlinked with parts of the Baden and Hohenzollern regions.

It was only the creation of routes in neighboring countries with the prospect of profits through transit traffic as well as technical advances in railway technology and the fear of being left behind by developments in neighboring countries that gave Württemberg the final impetus to build railway lines.

Construction of the main lines

The government took up the suggestions of its investigative commission and from 1836 had senior building officer Georg von Bühler and major general Carl von Seeger work out plans for the following lines:

Route network 1854

The aim of the construction of the main railways was the connection between Neckar, Danube and Lake Constance (the former were navigable from Heilbronn and Ulm). On the other hand, the establishment of a coherent route network was sought from the beginning, which was to be linked with that of the neighboring countries in order to direct transit traffic through the country.

The plans were completed by 1839 and subsequently revised by the experts from Negrelli , Charles Vignoles and Karl Etzel . The key questions were:

  • Routing of the Ostbahn: The Remsbahn variant bypassed the Swabian Alb , but was considerably longer than the Filsbahn variant and had to be run partly through Bavarian territory. The Geislinger Steige had to be crossed on the direct route . The Filsbahn was chosen because of the shorter route and the better connection to Stuttgart.
  • Choice of central station: According to the various plans, Cannstatt, Stuttgart and Berg were available. Because of Stuttgart's location in a valley basin, the first plans included connecting Stuttgart only with a branch line from Cannstatt or Berg. Later, however, Etzel made the construction of the central station in Stuttgart possible with more modern plans (including the Prague and Rosenstein tunnels ). Since Stuttgart was the considerably larger city and a higher volume of traffic was to be expected, the decision was made to go to the capital, although its geographical location brought problems that are still noticeable today (see also Stuttgart 21 ).

The Württemberg railways were designated as state railways from the start ; Applications for concessions to build private railways (e.g. the Württemberg railway company founded for this purpose in 1836) were initially rejected. In doing so, the government and the king wanted to protect the state's interest in the seemingly lucrative transit traffic. In any case, intergovernmental negotiations were necessary to establish the connecting lines to the neighboring states.

On April 18, 1843, the Railway Act was passed, which ordered the construction of the above-mentioned railway lines. This law, on the other hand, restricted privately financed railways to secondary rail connections. The Württemberg Railway Act was also the impetus for the establishment of the Esslingen machine factory , which significantly operated and shaped railway construction and railway technology in Württemberg.

Landhaus Rosenstein, with railway tunnel, around 1845 at the time of the opening of the Stuttgart – Esslingen railway line

After the law was passed, the first thing to do was to tackle the Zentralbahn , which linked Stuttgart in two branches with Ludwigsburg and Esslingen . Construction began in 1844, the first section between Cannstatt and Untertürkheim was opened on October 22, 1845 , and the entire route was completed by 1846. The north runway was completed by 1848, and the south and east runway completed by 1850.

Negotiations with Baden were necessary about the Western Railway . These were exemplary of the relationship between Württemberg and its neighboring countries, which was characterized by both cooperation and competitive thinking. On the one hand, both sides were convinced of the necessity of a rail link, on the other hand, both countries wanted to carry the transit traffic coming from the north as far as possible over their territory. A connection between Heilbronn and Wiesloch would have been beneficial for Württemberg, while Baden wanted to provide a connection via Durlach and Pforzheim. With a connection in Bruchsal , they agreed on a middle ground. As a result of this agreement, the Westbahn was built between 1850 and 1853 and then put into operation. In Ulm, a connection to the Bavarian network was created in 1854.

The continuous route Bretten – Stuttgart – Ulm developed permanently into the most important railway line in Württemberg, so that the name main line established itself for it .

Internal expansion

Elevation map of the Royal Württemberg State Railways (1865)
Imprint of the height map

Although the main railways were economically successful, there was initially a break of several years in railway construction. However, from 1854–1856 a rail rolling mill was built in Wasseralfingen near Aalen . It was not until 1857 that new lines were built in areas for which a railway connection seemed urgent; these were:

Route network 1864

Of these projects, the Upper Neckar Railway was first built, the Plochingen –Reutlingen section until 1859, the continuation to Rottenburg until 1861 and Eyach 1864.

In order to develop the north-east, a route from Heilbronn through the Kocher valley via Hall and on to Aalen was initially planned. Due to technical difficulties, this plan was abandoned and replaced by a line via Öhringen , Hall to Crailsheim , then through the Jagsttal to Aalen . With the new railway construction law of November 17, 1858, however, initially only the construction of the Kocherbahn to Hall was set and carried out until 1862.

In 1857 the government initially planned a branch from the Filsbahn near Lonsee to Heidenheim to connect the eastern part of the country . However, this plan was soon deemed uneconomical and abandoned. A branch near Uhingen in the Filstal to Lorch and from there further in the Remstal to Aalen had better chances of realization . This would have offered a convenient connection to the Upper Neckar Railway. Bavaria, which feared competition for its own north-south connection, indicated that it would not allow a connection of this kind in Nördlingen. Therefore, the Remsbahn from Cannstatt to Waiblingen and from there along the Rems to Aalen and Wasseralfingen was built and inaugurated in 1861. Also in 1861, Württemberg signed a state treaty with Bavaria that regulated the extension to Nördlingen , which was completed by 1863 (today Riesbahn ). The contract contained the Brenzbahn clause, which was unfavorable for Württemberg and forbade a direct connection between Aalen and Ulm until 1875. Therefore, in 1864 only a branch line from Aalen to Heidenheim was laid out.

Networking with the neighbors

When the Westbahn was built, Baden was given the option of connecting a railway coming from Pforzheim in Mühlacker . This railway was realized by Baden in 1863 (see Karlsruhe – Mühlacker railway line ), which made Mühlacker a railway junction on the Württemberg side and quickly grew from a hamlet into a small town.

Negotiations with neighboring countries were necessary for the further expansion of the route network. Besides Baden and Bavaria, these were Prussia , which bordered with the Hohenzollern Lands on Württemberg, and Hesse, whose exclave Wimpfen lay between Baden and Württemberg.

In the north, an agreement was reached in 1864 on three connections to the Baden Odenwaldbahn ( Heidelberg - Mosbach - Würzburg ), namely:

A connection desired by Württemberg along the Neckar in the direction of Eberbach to the local Hessian railway did not come about for the time being, as Baden feared competition for its Rhine valley line.

With these contracts the development of Jagstfeld and Crailsheim into railway hubs was mapped out. The agreed lines were built between 1866 and 1869, and Crailsheim was also connected to the Goldshöfe (Remsbahn) and Hall (Hohenlohebahn) stations.

In the south, Württemberg wanted to continue building its Upper Neckar Railway via Horb am Neckar to Rottweil . At the same time, an additional route between Stuttgart and Horb should be set up to speed up the connection. The latter could be done in two ways: via Böblingen and Herrenberg (the Gäubahn ) or via Weil der Stadt, Calw and Nagold (the Württemberg Black Forest Railway ). For cost reasons, the second option was initially chosen.

Route network 1874

South of Rottweil, this railway was to be connected to the Baden network. Baden saw such a project as competition for its Rhine Valley route. On the other hand, Baden wanted a connection between Waldshut , where it had a transition to Switzerland, and Ulm. From this one promised profits in traffic from France and Switzerland to the east. Württemberg saw this connection, however, also as competition for its southern runway. In addition, both routes ran through the Hohenzollern region, which made negotiations with Prussia necessary. In return for the construction of the route through its territory, Prussia wanted Sigmaringen to receive rail connections. Based on these interests, the following route structures were agreed in bilateral state treaties in 1865:

The last-mentioned route was linked to the expansion of the railways in the Allgäu ( Württembergische Allgäubahn ), which was planned at the same time , through which Aulendorf became a junction. The state treaty with Baden also envisaged closing the gap at Lake Constance, which, however, was not initially implemented.

As a result of the contracts, there was brisk construction activity, which was delayed briefly but not significantly by the wars of 1866 and 1871 . The lines on the Neckar were built from 1866 to 1870, the railways in the Black Forest including the Stuttgart – Calw – Horb line from 1868 to 1874. In 1873 the Waldshut – Ulm connection was put into operation, the railways in the Allgäu until 1875. The connection between Tübingen and Sigmaringen was built in several construction phases between 1869 and 1878.

After the founding of the empire

With the establishment of the Empire in 1871 , Württemberg joined the German Empire . The state railways of the federal states remained independent (despite the contrary efforts of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck ). However, Article 42 of the Constitution of the German Reich obliged the states to have the railways administered as a uniform network in the interests of general traffic . The supervision of the railway system was exercised by the Reich Railway Authority . Article 41 of the constitution empowered the Reich to order railway constructions of military importance.

The line constructions that took place after the founding of the empire, insofar as they closed gaps in the east-west direction, are therefore also to be understood from the point of view of military interest, which required transport capacities in the direction of the French border. The demand for the administration of the railways as a unified network also offered new possibilities, as Württemberg now received some connections that the neighboring states had previously denied it for reasons of competition.

Route network 1890

Until 1890 Württemberg was busy with the completion of its main railways. The most important project of this time was the creation of a north-east-south-west transversal, consisting of the Murrtalbahn Schwäbisch Hall- Hessental-Waiblingen and the Gäubahn Stuttgart- Freudenstadt , the construction of which was decided in 1872 and carried out until 1879 and 1880 respectively. Both railways received onward connections to Baden and Bavaria, the Murrtalbahn also received two connecting lines to the northern railway , from Backnang to Bietigheim and Ludwigsburg.

Württemberg had also agreed with Bavaria on the construction of the Brenzbahn , which partly ran over Bavarian territory and closed the gap between Heidenheim and Ulm. This railway line was made possible by the expiry of the blocking period agreed in 1861 and was inaugurated in 1876.

The construction of the Kraichgaubahn was agreed with Baden in 1873 , which was built from 1878 to 1880 between Durlach via Bretten and Eppingen to Heilbronn , half of which ran in both countries. Associated with this was the repurchase of the Bretten – Bruchsal line through Baden, so that the Württemberg part of the Western Railway only extended to Bretten. The agreement also provided for the Jagstfeld – Neckarelz – Eberbach connection, which was previously requested by Württemberg and completed in 1879.

Other state railways were built in the Allgäu between Kißlegg and Wangen (1880) and further into Hergatz in Bavaria (1890) and between Leutkirch and Memmingen in Bavaria (1889). The gap between Tuttlingen and Sigmaringen was closed in 1890 along the Upper Danube.

With these additions, the main route network was essentially completed in 1890. In 1899 and 1901, the gap with the Bavarian and Baden railways on Lake Constance was closed. The Württemberg railways not only operated profitably and provided the state treasury with additional income, but also made a significant contribution to the flourishing of the Württemberg economy in the 19th century. Places on the railway line attracted industrial companies and were able to increase their population enormously. The main route network also proved to be permanent; almost all lines built up to 1890 are still in operation today, although some have lost their importance. exceptions are

  • the Weil der Stadt – Calw section of the Württemberg Black Forest Railway, which soon after its construction became less important due to the Gäubahn;
  • the Beihingen – Bietigheim branch of the Murrtalbahn (not restored after war damage in 1945);
  • the Altshausen – Pfullendorf line (passenger traffic stopped in 1964);
  • the Leutkirch – Isny ​​section of the Württemberg Allgäu Railway.

Construction of secondary railways

The downside of the economic success of the main lines was that the remote communities were left behind from economic development and therefore also urgently sought rail connections. For the connection of these mostly geographically unfavorable areas, the Railway Act of 1843 provided the possibility of building secondary railways , which could also be left to private companies.

The first of these railways was the line from Unterboihingen (today Wendlingen ) to Kirchheim unter Teck (see Teckbahn ) that was built by the Kirchheimer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft in 1864 . The privately operated Ermstalbahn was added in 1873, followed by the beginnings of the Filderbahn Company in 1884 and the narrow-gauge steam tram to Weingarten in 1888 . With the construction of the Altensteigerle in 1891, the era of branch lines also began for the state railways; numerous other state and private buildings followed by the end of the 1920s.

Route network 1940

Branch lines were usually laid out as branch lines, which opened up individual river valleys, partly in standard gauge , partly in narrow gauge for cost reasons . Only a few branch lines established additional connections between existing lines; private railways were denied this from the outset.

Around Stuttgart some bypass lines were built to relieve the state capital's train station. These include the Untertürkheim – Kornwestheim freight bypass in 1896, the BöblingenRenningen Rankbach railway in 1914 and 1915, and the Kornwestheim marshalling yard was built between 1918 and 1920 .

Transfer to the Reichsbahn

After the First World War was lost , the Weimar Constitution of 1919 ended the independence of the state railways, which from April 1, 1920 were administered by the Reich as the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen . When the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) was founded in 1924, it was an independent state-owned company. The former management of the Württemberg State Railways became the Reichsbahndirektion Stuttgart . The route network was 2153 kilometers long at that time.

The construction of new lines continued until 1928 and then stopped. The profitability of the railroad decreased, not only because of the onset of the global economic crisis , but also because not all branch lines led to economic success and also because car traffic was increasingly competing. In 1932 the electrification of the lines around Stuttgart began (→  traction current ), for this purpose the railcars of the ET 65 series were procured. On March 15, 1933, the electrified route sections Ludwigsburg - Stuttgart Hbf and Stuttgart Hbf - Esslingen were opened as part of this Stuttgart suburban traffic .

The line openings worth mentioning up to the Second World War include the closure of the gap between Klosterreichenbach and Raumünzach on the Murgtalbahn in 1928 and the connecting curve between Tuttlingen and Hattingen built in 1934 , which saved the trains between Stuttgart and Singen a hairpin in Immendingen. Significantly, the projects on the Baden-Württemberg border were first carried out under the aegis of the Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft.

World War II and further development

Route network (as of 2005)
Project Stuttgart 21

During the Second World War , the railways were the target of numerous bomb attacks due to their military importance; In the final phase of the war, many bridges were blown up by German soldiers when they withdrew. At the end of the war, the railway network was initially completely ruined.

Württemberg was divided into a northern American and a southern French occupation zone . The railway network was quickly restored in both zones as it was the basis for the reconstruction. The French occupying power also had an interest in creating reparations payments to France by means of the railroad, and occasionally also used the route network itself, so the second track between Horb and Tuttlingen was dismantled. In 1952 all of Württemberg was incorporated into the new state of Baden-Württemberg .

After the restoration of the route network, it was not expanded any further. The reason was (as everywhere in Germany) the ever increasing automobile traffic, which withdrew customers from the railways and was now given preference over rail traffic by the state. As a result, from the end of the 1950s, passenger traffic was discontinued and numerous routes were shut down. This mainly affected the branch lines built from 1890 onwards, with the most recently built lines being hardest hit.

In 1978 the VVS tariff association was founded in and around Stuttgart, and has since operated an S-Bahn network in the Stuttgart area .

Since the regionalization of the SPNV in 1994, which made the districts responsible for the regional supply of local public transport, a slight trend towards reactivation of previously closed routes can be observed again; Examples are the Schönbuchbahn (1996), Ermstalbahn (1999) or the Balingen – Schömberg line (2002).

A high-speed line was set up in 1991 for the ICE trains between Mannheim and Stuttgart , which replaced the former Westbahn for long-distance traffic. As part of the Stuttgart 21 project , which u. a. plans to completely rebuild Stuttgart's main station , another new line between Stuttgart and Ulm is under construction, which the ICEs will then use instead of the Filstalbahn .

See also

literature

  • Bernd Beck: Swabian Railway . Pictures from the Royal Württemberg State Railway. Metz, Tübingen 1989, ISBN 3-921580-78-1 .
  • Hochstetter (Government Councilor of the Reichsbahn General Directorate , Stuttgart): Württembergische Eisenbahnen . In: Victor von Röll (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Railway System . 2nd, completely revised edition. tape 10 : Transitional bridge intermediate station . Urban & Scharzenberg, Berlin / Vienna 1923, p. 433 ff . ( zeno.org ).
  • Georg von Morlok : The Royal Württemberg State Railways. Review of its construction during the years 1835–1889, taking into account its historical, technical and financial moments and results . Siedentop, Heidenheim 1986, ISBN 3-924305-01-3 (first edition: Stuttgart 1890, reprint).
  • Albert Mühl, Kurt Seidel: The Württemberg State Railways . Theiss, Stuttgart / Aalen 1970, ISBN 3-8062-0032-7 (with 104 type sketches by Rudolf Stöckle).
  • Andreas M. Räntzsch: Württemberg railway history. tape 1 : 1830-1854. Planning phase and implementation of the building project . H&L publications, Schweinfurt 1996, ISBN 3-928786-36-9 .
  • Otto Supper: The Development of the Railway System in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Memorandum for the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first railway line in Württemberg on October 28, 1845 . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-17-005976-9 (first edition: 1905, reprint).
  • Werner Walz: The railway in Baden-Württemberg. History of the railways in Baden and Württemberg from 1840 to the present day . Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-87943-716-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wolfgang Klee: Württemberg Railway History . In: Eisenbahn-Journal Württemberg-Report . tape 1 , no. V / 96 . Merker, Fürstenfeldbruck 1996, ISBN 3-922404-96-0 , p. 12 .
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on April 18, 2006 .